Andrena (Micrandrena) herodesi Pisanty & Wood, 2022

Pisanty, Gideon, Scheuchl, Erwin, Martin, Teresa, Cardinal, Sophie & Wood, Thomas James, 2022, Twenty-five new species of mining bees (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae: Andrena) from Israel and the Levant, Zootaxa 5185 (1), pp. 1-109 : 51

Andrena (Micrandrena) herodesi Pisanty & Wood sp. nov.

( Figs. 110–114 )

Female ( Fig. 110 ).

Body length: 7.5–8 mm.

Colour. Body and legs dark brown ( Fig. 110 ). Anterior side of flagellum gradually reddish-brown apically ( Figs. 110–111 ). Wings hyaline, veins brown, stigma orange ( Fig. 110 ). Tergal marginal zones reddish-brown ( Fig. 114 ).

Pubescence. Head and mesosoma with white to brownish minutely plumose hairs of moderate length and density ( Figs. 110–113 ). Facial foveae with dense minute hairs, white on lower and medial sections, white to brownish on upper section ( Figs. 111, 113 ). Propodeal corbicula incomplete, posterodorsal fringe with long white plumose hairs. Surface of corbicula with few long white simple hairs. Legs with mostly white to golden hair ( Fig. 110 ). Flocculus developed, white. Scopa moderate, hairs mostly white and simple, brownish near tibial base, unilaterally plumose on posterior part ( Fig. 110 ). Surface of terga with sparse short white hairs. Tergal marginal zones 2-4 with distinct continuous bands of dense white hairs, limited to the apical half of the marginal zone in the center of the tergum. Terminal fringe golden to light brown ( Fig. 114 ).

Head ( Figs. 111–113 ). 1.2 times broader than long. Galea shagreened. Labral process trapezoidal ( Fig. 112 ). Clypeus flat, basal 2/3 matt, shagreened and very finely longitudinally grooved, apical 1/3 more or less smooth; punctation shallow, distance between punctures 1–2 puncture diameters, puncture size medium, with an ill-defined impunctate midline ( Fig. 112 ). Paraocular area weakly shagreened to longitudinally striated below, distinctly longitudinally striated above ( Figs. 111–112 ). Supraclypeal area and frons longitudinally striated. Flagellomere 1 slightly longer than 2+3, 2 slightly shorter than 3 ( Fig. 111 ). Facial foveae in lower 2/3 narrow and linear, in upper 1/3 broadened, 0.2 and 0.4 times as broad as antennocular distance, respectively, extending from level of middle of lateral ocellus to base of clypeus ( Figs. 111, 113 ). Distance of fovea from lateral ocellus 1 ocellus diameter. Ocelloccipital distance 0.8 ocellus diameter ( Fig. 113 ).

Mesosoma ( Fig. 113 ). Dorsolateral angle of pronotum not to weakly elevated, pronotum not carinate laterally. Mesonotum entirely matt and strongly shagreened, very shallowly punctured, distance between punctures 1.5–2 puncture diameters, puncture size medium. Scutellum similar, with a shinier medial narrow area ( Fig. 113 ). Mesepisternum finely alveolate, impunctate. Propodeal triangle finely alveolate, except for a small mediobasal area which is very finely and shallowly rugose-areolate ( Fig. 113 ). Propodeal corbicula shiny, finely reticulated, impunctate. Hind pretarsal claws bidentate. Submarginal crossvein 1 meeting marginal cell about 4 vein widths from stigma. Recurrent vein 1 meeting submarginal cell 2 near its middle. Nervulus interstitial to weakly postfurcal ( Fig. 110 ).

Metasoma ( Fig. 114 ). Tergal discs matt, strongly shagreened and impunctate.Tergal marginal zones shagreened, 1 not depressed, 2–4 weakly so.

Male. Unknown.

Diagnosis. Andrena herodesi belongs to the Andrena longibarbis species group of Micrandrena, formerly regarded as subgenus Distandrena ( Pisanty et al. 2022). It most closely resembles A. fria Warncke , but differs in the smaller body size, trapezoidal labral process (triangular in A. fria ), more weakly grooved clypeus, foveae that are less strongly narrowed below, and impunctate terga (distinctly punctured in A. fria ).

Distribution: Southern Israel, Jordan, West Bank.

Flight period: March.

Flower records: None.

Holotype: WEST BANK [ISRAEL]: Herodium [Herodyon], 31°40’N 35°14’E, 31.iii.2009, M. Guershon, ♀ ( SMNHTAU:348536).

Paratypes: ISRAEL: Sde Boker [Sede Boqer], 21.iii.1985, I. Yarom (2♀) ; JORDAN: Wadi-el-Mawjib , 400 m, 20.iii.2009, V. Barták (1♀) ; WEST BANK: Herodium [Herodyon], 31°40’N 35°14’E, 31.iii.2009, M. Guershon (5♀) ( OLML, SMNHTAU) .

Etymology. Named after king Herod the Great (Herodes in Latin), builder of the palace fortress of Herodium, the species’ locus typicus. The species epithet is an adjective.

Other material examined ( A. fria ): SPAIN: Sierra de Maria , 25 km W Lorca, 10.v.2003, J. Halada (2♀); Sierra Filabres Albanchez, 23.iv.2003, J. Halada (10♀) ( OLML) .

Figures

FIGURES 110–117. Andrena (Micrandrena) herodesi sp. nov. 110. female habitus, 111. female head, 112. female clypeus and labral process, 113. female vertex and mesosoma, 114. female metasoma. Andrena (Micrandrena) lunaris sp. nov. 115. female habitus, 116. female head, 117. female clypeus and labral process.